Forever
by FromMyMind
Summary: The very, very late conclusion to my mini-series, with the previous parts being The Almosts and Return To Me. Will Gale's working in the mines make Katniss's worst fears into reality? Rating to be safe. Please read the housekeeping note at the end if you have read either of the other works based on the premise of this story.


**First things first – please don't throw rocks at me! **_**(ducks behind wall)**_** I know it's been forever. I have my excuses – final exams, starting university, school trips, zero inspiration ****– but really, that's no excuse. I'm a horrible updater, and if no one reads this, it serves me right. Actually, please don't – it's horrible and uninspired**** and I cringe when I attempt to edit it****. And the spacing sucks. But I swore to myself that I would get it over with – after the cliffhanger I left you with (like a****n idiot; I really shouldn't have done that because it put me under more pressure and ****thus ****made me less enthusiastic to write), I really owe you some resolution. Thanks go to GaleLuver27 who called me out on my inexcusable dereliction of duty.**

**Housekeeping at the end.**

**Not Suzanne Collins – not my characters. Disclaimed.**

The first day Gale had to report for work in the mines, Katniss ran away to the woods, to their tree, and didn't come down until Gale came for her; exhausted after twelve hours of work, and slick with coal dust, but alive and unscathed.

The second day, she hunted, so that she could bring her part in keeping his family – and Gale himself – alive, because of her belief that being well-fed would give him a better chance in the mines.

The third day was a Saturday, and Katniss decided to rise early, walk Gale to the entrance of the mine, and then be there to meet him when he exited. He walked with her to her house, where Prim drew him a bath and let him soak off the dirt and grime of that underground place. After their dinner of fresh rabbit, Gale fell asleep in the chair next to the fire, and had to be roused by Mrs E when Kat was ready for bed, to go up with her and sleep without getting a sore neck.

On Sunday morning, both rose early, and Gale insisted on hunting immediately, despite Katniss' protests that he had to sleep longer. Once he had threatened to go without her, she packed them a lunch bag and they headed out.

Seated on their rock to have their breakfast before hunting, Katniss tucked neatly under Gale's arm, he spoke directly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "You didn't have a nightmare last night."  
"I know."

"Does that mean that you've stopped thinking that the mines are going to choose the spot where I'm working to collapse on someone's head?" he asked lightly, to hide his own fear. As it was, Katniss smacked him softly.

"Don't even say it."

"Kat, I promise, I'll be fine. I'll get home every night – safe and sound."

"Promise?"

"I promise." And as had become habit, he leaned forward to kiss her soft lips.

Somehow, Gale slipped out of the house without waking Katniss early on Monday morning. Unbeknownst to her, his last act before he left the room was to kiss her temple and whisper a goodbye – he had forgotten to tell her that he wanted to leave early so that he could make a stop at home before going to the mines. He went to see his family every day, and ate with them often, but liked to take an early minute with just his mother when he got the chance.

When she woke, Katniss was disappointed that she had missed Gale, but knew why he must have left early. Instead of trying to stop him on the way, Katniss decided to head to the woods, where it was almost as if she could feel Gale behind her; walking with her and telling her what to do. She managed to bring down two rabbits and a squirrel, as well as getting three more squirrels from the snare line, before heading in. She headed straight for the Hawthornes', where Hazelle bustled her inside quickly. "Peacekeepers."

Katniss tossed her entire bag into the ice chest. "Where?"  
"They just left. I didn't want them to see you with your bag."  
"Thank you, Hazelle."

"Thank you. What have we got today?"

"Two rabbits; four squirrels. Enough to trade and eat if you need to. And my mother sent this." Katniss reached into her pocket and took out a small vial. "For Posy's cough. She also said Gale should brush off outside so that there's less coal dust around."

Hazelle nodded. "I'll tell him. He said you might be here today. He asked me to tell you that he left you early so that he could come here."  
"I thought he would," Katniss said. She put the vial on the table.

"Tea?" Hazelle put the kettle onto the stove. "I've still got some of that delicious mint Gale brought home a week ago."

"Thank you." Katniss took a seat, and spent a good hour with Hazelle before heading home again. She was almost home when she heard the siren that signalled a mine accident. "No. No, no, no, no, no!" She turned and ran all the way back to the Hawthornes', where Hazelle was twisting a dishtowel in her hands and staring into space. "Hazelle?"  
"It can't be him … it can't. It isn't, Katniss." But the words were hollow.

Already the street was echoing with the thumping of feet as the children poured out of school. Rory was the first one into the kitchen. "Mom?"

"It can't be. It's not him. It won't be him."

Katniss could feel shivers running up and down her limbs. The next thing she knew, Prim was beside her, easing her into a chair. "I'm sure he's okay, Katniss. I'm sure it wasn't him." She took control immediately. "Rory, go to the mine entrance. As soon as you hear something, come back here and tell us, okay?"

Hazelle roused herself. "I'll go too. Prim, take Katniss home."

Katniss shook her head. "I want to come."  
"No, Katniss." Prim, for being so small, still managed to overpower her sister. "I'll take Posy, Hazelle."

"Thank you."

Prim looked at Rory. "Come tell us what you find out?"

He nodded, and Prim all but dragged Katniss back to the Victor's Village. Once there, Katniss refused to go inside. "I'm going to stay here until I see Rory. I'm okay, Prim. I promise."

Prim frowned but took Posy inside, leaving Katniss to pace the path between the gate and the front door until her individual footprints were no longer discernible. She kept visualizing Gale walking up the road, healthy and whole – running to her, and sweeping her into his arms, and kissing her soundly before scolding her for worrying about him – because hadn't he promised? And didn't he always keep his promises?

But Katniss knew, when she saw Rory running up the road, his face a smear of mud and tears and coal dust and blood, that her worst fear had come true. She shouted as loud as she could manage for her mother and Prim before falling to her knees and letting Rory bury his face in her hair. She held him as tight as she could before choking out the words. "Tell me, Rory."

"He's alive." The boy's voice was a quiver. "But just. They're bringing him."  
"What happened?"

"We don't know yet. They've gotten three out, and about eight are still trapped."  
"How bad is he?" Katniss didn't realize that she was almost shaking Rory until she saw his wince. "Sorry."

Rory was saved from replying by the sight of Gale on a stretcher – Vick and Hazelle walking ahead, and four men carrying the cloth-and-wood construction that held a motionless Gale.

Katniss screamed his name and took off down the road, but Hazelle caught her in a bear hug before she could touch the stretcher. "Be careful, Katniss. He has some broken bones."

But all Katniss could feel was relief. There was no blood, and Gale was breathing. That had to be good news, right?

No, she realized when she saw her mother's face. Someone as still as Gale was, was not good news. At all.

Her mother's lips were pursed as she carefully ran her hands over Gale's limbs. "His leg's broken," she said when she reached his right shin. "I'll set it. Prim, comfrey." But she continued her search for damage, and shook her head when she reached his chest. "At least three ribs." But, stoic healer or not, she couldn't hide the second of horror that flitted across her face as she ran her hands under Gale's body to feel his back. "Lord above, _no_."

When Katniss heard those words, she knew that it was bad; whatever was wrong with Gale. "_What is it?_" she all but shrieked.

Her mother looked up, resigned to sharing the horrible news. "He's paralyzed, Katniss. He's broken his back. He'll not walk again."

Katniss had never fainted before. But at those words, her perfect record was shattered.

Gale only roused from his death-like sleep a week later. They tried to keep the news from him, but in the face of his violent outbursts and railing at his mother – who happened to be the one keeping vigil next to the bed in the upper storey of the Victor house at the time – finally forced Katniss's mother to tell him the truth before dosing him with sleep syrup. It wasn't soon enough, though – before sleep was forced upon him, he had enough strength to curse the Capitol and the mines to hell and back.

Gale's injuries healed slowly, except for the one that never would, and the emotional one that came with it. He fought with everyone around him, Katniss included, over feelings of helplessness, dependency, and what he called 'being treated like an infant'. But it was six weeks down the line when he realized that his family was still well-fed. "Katniss," he asked the girl who barely left his side, "where is my family getting enough money to eat?"

Katniss shifted uncomfortably and murmured something about would he like a glass of water.

"Katniss." Gale's voice was low and warning.

"Theyeatherewithus," Katniss mumbled.

"What did you say?"  
"I said," Katniss said in a stronger voice, "they eat here with us. They won't move in, but they eat here. They're my family too, Gale – did you think I was going to let them starve?"

"It's my job to feed my family," Gale all but roared. "Not yours!"

"Well, you can't feed them, can you?" Katniss clapped her hands over her mouth immediately, wishing she could take the words back. But they were out; hovering over the room like so much thick, black smoke.

"No, I can't." Surprisingly, Gale's voice was calm. "I can't now, and I'll never be able to again, because the only work for a man in District 12 is the mines, and I can't work there! I can never work again, and my family is going to starve!"  
"Your family will not starve!" It was Katniss's turn to raise her voice. "Because they are my family too. And dammit, Gale, if you want to make that official, just marry me and let me look after all of you! It might be blood money, but if it can feed the kids, I'll accept it with a smile."  
"What did you say?" Gale asked quietly.

"I said it's blood money but – "

"No, before that. The M word."

Katniss blushed. "Look, I know I always said I'd never get married. But you won't let me take care of you long-term if we're not married, and I'm going to take care of you. Look, Gale, I wouldn't even have mentioned it if it wasn't you. You're the only person in the world I could ever even begin to imagine myself married to. But – "

Gale's face became hard. "You listen to me and you listen closely, Katniss. I'm not going to let you throw your life away to baby an invalid who can't do anything more than roll around the house in a chair. I'm not going to let you waste yourself on me."

"Gale, I love you!" The words, almost a shout, tore from Katniss's mouth in a way that she hadn't spoken them before. "Dammit, Gale, don't you realize it? I love you. I loved you before your accident and I love you now. If I don't marry you, I am not going to get married. It's not throwing my life away!"  
"What do you want a cripple for a husband for? Katniss, I'm useless."

"No, you're not."

It was the last that Katniss said on the subject, but over the next few weeks, things began appearing in Gale's sickroom. Bits of wood to be carved into saleable chess sets or checkers, or even just little toys for the children. Bows to be restrung and arrows to be made or feathered. Snares to be tied – with this last, Gale began inventing new and superior snares. Rory began hunting to supplement the food that Katniss bought, for she could not be seen in the forest anymore. Still, the families began merging into one, and after a long conversation with his mother and another with Mrs Everdeen, Gale decided that it was only fair of him to make it official. Unable to go down onto one knee, he fashioned a ring out of some scraps of metal and quartz that Rory found for him, and simply slipped it onto Katniss's finger under the dinner table. When she realized what had happened, she kissed him soundly. And when the family realized, the wedding plans began immediately.

It was a quiet wedding in the Victor house, with Haymitch and Cinna as the only other guests. Katniss's insistence on having her whole family live in her house after the wedding was granted, saving the Hawthornes from another cold winter in their little house. The money for food saved any tesserae having to be taken out, and all of the young ones got through the reaping safely.

Of course, life wasn't perfect. Gale still railed against the Capitol, his disability, and the fact that there was very little work for somebody not physically able in District 12. Eventually, these railings would lead to an uprising and a rebellion; to a bloody war with the Capitol and, yes, to eventual victory of the districts. But that wouldn't happen yet.

In fact, Katniss thought as she sat in the lounge with her husband at her side and her family around her some eight months after the wedding, life in the district couldn't get much better. They were warm and clothed, fed and sheltered. She had the love of her life with her for the rest of their forevers.

And as prizes go, that was a pretty good one.

**Yes, I know. It's bad. But I had to get it over with. I really do apologize, both for the long wait and the terrible chapter I've finally deigned to give you.**

**Now, for that promised housekeeping – this is the end of this mini-series. My original plan was to make this into a full series, giving my take on the rebellion based on this premise, but to be honest, I can't. I haven't had much inspiration for fanfiction in months, and the little I have had has been in the Harry Potter universe. So it is unlikely that I will be posting any further THG fictions.**

**I realize that this is a crummy resolution to this story. I know I'm letting those of you who have read this little series down. And I am sorry. But I am in varsity now, and I can't see myself using any of the little time I have for writing, on these fictions – it will go either to Harry Potter (also fairly unlikely) or my own personal works. It isn't ideal, but my schoolwork has to be my priority, and I hope you understand that.**

**Again, my apologies for the rubbish conclusion, and BIG thank-yous to everyone who has stuck with this story for the ridiculous length of time it has taken me to complete it.**

**FromMyMind**


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